Tradition
by thealicelongbottom
Summary: Lily and James are co-heads and share a tentative relationship. The heads common room helps them along a bit. Anything recognisable belongs to JKR. Rating due to language.


Tradition

They had a tentative friendship. If it could even be classed as that. Becoming co-heads this year had ensured they had to be on talking terms but friends? Could they ever be friends? Lily Evans and James Potter. Friends. It just didn't sound right. So when the two of them had walked into the Great Hall together on the first day of classes talking amicably between themselves, a silence followed them along with the eyes of the Hogwarts population. But of course, they were too wrapped up in their conversation to even notice and so sat down next to each other and their respective friends as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

As this continued, the Hogwarts population began to become accustomed to it. Lily stopped receiving death glares from the females of Hogwarts as they began to realise that nothing had actually happened between the two heads, they were just getting along. Of course the new first years had no idea what the big deal of the head students getting along was. But they hadn't been exposed to the tempestuous relationship of Lily and James.

The two heads had of course noticed that they hadn't blown up at each other yet and were enjoying each other's company. So that fateful night the tradition began, it seemed like the next logical step in their friendship.

 _Lily stomped into the heads common room and slammed the door._

 _"Woah there Evans, what'd the door ever do to you?"_

 _"Oh just fuck off would you. Why can't everybody just_ fuck off?" _Lily was seething. James wasn't stupid, he could see she was about to blow. So he did the most logical thing he could think of. He summoned the Honeydukes from his room, stood up and offered it to Lily._

 _"Sit down. Talk." It wasn't a question. She didn't quite sit where he was expecting her to though. Instead of going to the couch or armchair that he expected her to, she sat down where she was stood. With her back facing the fire and her front facing the sofa James had been sitting on._

 _James sat back down, but instead of sitting on the sofa he sat on the floor leaning against it, facing Lily. "Well spit it out then, what's got your wand in a knot?"_

 _Lily huffed, took a bit of fudge and started talking. And talking. And talking. Seriously. James didn't say anything else for at least an hour. But he got to know Lily a lot better. Her sister was getting married but didn't want her to be there. Her sister was marrying the most foul sounding thing James had ever heard of. Her dad was ill and her sister was blaming her. Her mum was trying to keep the family together but had no idea how to when one of her daughters was away most of the year and the other wanted a_ normal life, _meaning no magic at all. And no Lily._

 _By the end of her speech, Lily had munched her way through James's entire stash of fudge and had part way rinsed him of chocolate frogs. He was now in dire need of a trip to Hogsmeade._

 _"C'mon, lets go." James stood up walked around the coffee table and offered a hand to Lily._

 _"Where?" she looked at him curiously._

 _"Hogsmeade, you've talked your way through almost my entire stash. I need to refill." It was a simple explanation and apparently was good enough for Lily as she reached up, took his hand and pulled herself up._

 _"Well how're we getting there captain?" Lily had started calling him captain after the first prefects meeting of the year. She had been surprised when he had done so well at taking charge and getting everything done. At the end of the meeting she was curious about when he learned to be a leader._

 _"I've been Quidditch Captain since 5_ _th_ _year Evans, if I can handle that bunch of twats I think I can handle some little prefects."_

 _She had been surprised at his response but had immediately started calling him Captain. He hated it. Almost as much as she hated him calling her Lily-pad._

 _The two of them had snuck through the one eyed witch passageway and emerged in Honeydukes cellar. Lily could hardly say she was surprised when she saw the little money tin and notepad on the windowsill with 'The Marauders' written on the front._

 _"How do you think we supply the parties Evans?" James had looked at her astonished when she stared while he wrote down his supply and helped himself to the boxes of sweets. "Can't be a proper mischief maker with no connections." He winked at her as he opened the trap door and gestured for her to go through first._

 _"Of course you've got all the Hogsmeade shops wrapped around your little fingers as well." Lily smirked at him and descended into the passageway._

 _"As well as who, Evans?" James closed the trap door behind himself and they started along the walk back to the castle._

 _"Let's see. Only all the teachers and the majority of the school population that isn't Slytherin." Lily looked over her shoulder. "You've gained a lot of people's respect this year James and I really admire you for it."_

 _James stopped in tracks while Lily carried on walking. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Lily spun around in the tunnel expecting to find James right behind her but instead finding him stood stock still about 20 paces back._

 _"Did_ the Lily Evans _just complement me,_ the James Potter, _resident arrogant bullying toe-rag of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardary?" James stared back a Lily with his mouth wide and eyebrows high._

 _"Possibly. But you deserve it." Lily stared back, not denying what she had said. "C'mon Captain we better get back."_

 _James nodded and carried on walking along the passageway with Lily making light conversation. Lily was struggling to think of a time she had felt so carelessly happy than in the presence of James Potter. The two ambled their way back to the heads common room, their arms weighed down with the Honeydukes bags._

 _They arrived back in the common room and found to their surprise, a large bowl on the coffee table. James didn't even hesitate and automatically poured the contents of one of the bags into the bowl._

 _"For our down days." He said in response to Lily's questioning look._

And so the tradition started. Each time one of them wasn't having a great day, they would sit on the floor, one in front of the fire and one leaning against the sofa, with the bowl of sweets between them.


End file.
